de Stricker

Where do Opportunities Come From?

At the 2011 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference, author Bruce Rosenstein spoke about, and featured a video interview he had conducted with, Peter Drucker (see the 2005 video at www.brucerosenstein.com).  In the video, Peter Drucker makes a point worth pondering when saying about his business career  "I took the opportunities … that fit me".  

Before we can choose what fits, we must have choices.  Where do our opportunities - for finding professional employment and for finding the best candidates to hire - come from?

Of course we have already laid the base for attracting opportunities.  We know that having a professional blog supports our statements of expertise.  We have a resume and LinkedIn profile doing us justice (see the free resume webinar at www.destricker.com/en/seminars.html).  We participate appropriately in discussion groups.  We carry a micro-resume (key professional skills shown on the back of a business card) and hand it out liberally so as to increase the number of instances when someone looks at it.  Our organizations' websites have a "career" section that entices applicants. 

But beyond ensuring we are findable, can we further generate opportunities?  Yes, we can. To take the opportunities that fit us, participating in professional events is one must-do activity in maximizing our choices.

The conference, like any other professional event, provided a concentrated set of circumstances that inherently stack up opportunities to (1) make a positive impression on someone who may hire us or mention us to hirers they know and to (2) find candidates who offer the skills needed for a position.  Active job seekers and those currently employed seized the moment when they participated actively in conference sessions, chatted up people they meet at social events, and engaged exhibitors in conversations.  Employers on the lookout for good applicants to hire likewise recognized the opportunity inherent in being at the conference.

Sometimes, an opportunity appears out of the blue.  But add to the farming method  of "plant, water, fertilize" the conference method of "show up, participate, prowl the exhibits". You cannot lose.

 

Thinking of Writing a Book? Think of Collaborating!

The Information and Knowledge Professional's Career Handbook: Define and Create Your Success was published by Chandos in Spring 2011.  I am so very grateful to my co-author Jill Hurst-Wahl for our successful collaboration, and I encourage others who are thinking about publishing to seek an opportunity to work with a colleague.

Note: The following was recently posted to the blog operated by the Leadership & Management Division of Special Libraries Association and is brought here with permission from LMD:

Sometimes, an idea floats around for a long time, looking for a hook into reality. I can't count the number of years it occurred to me vaguely "the advice colleagues ask for and receive ought to be written down for easy reference" as I went about my usual practice of speaking to student groups and reviewing resumes. Then it hit me: Why do it alone? Who else do I know who regularly has conversations with new career entrants and career changers? Hello, Jill? We each had some publisher contacts, and the process of pitching the proposal unfolded. I encourage others who walk around with a "book in the head" to seek out a collaborator - having a sounding board is priceless, and mutual reviews of text makes for a very clean manuscript going to the publisher.

The resulting book can be seen as a "recording" of so much we have said and keep wanting to say in public speeches and seminars and in private conversations. It sets out a foundation on which our interactions with colleagues can be that much more productive because we can focus on the situational specifics. Moreover, it's a manifesto allowing us to be frank about some convictions we built over decades of experience.

For me personally, the book in addition represented an opportunity to speak about the very individual nature of our work lives: I believe it is important to factor one's innate strengths and preferences into any planning for a career, and I hope readers will feel encouraged to take into account how powerful it can be when we do so. Sure, the first and second job out of school may be happenstance … but we still have every opportunity to put conscious planning in the mix.

I am grateful to Chandos for the opportunity to publish the Handbook - and do allow me a plug: The entire process of working with Chandos was smooth and efficient beyond my wildest expectations. I am blown away by the professionalism of that team!

References:

Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/hetqpD

Kim Dority's review at http://bit.ly/jklN69

Robyn Stockand's review at http://bit.ly/iWLnAF

Interviews with Ulla and Jill by Dennie Heye: http://twaud.io/qKwQ and http://twaud.io/qQ79

AMAZON listing and reviews: http://amzn.to/e285mO

Europe: www.woodheadpublishing.com/en/book.aspx?bookID=2101&ChandosTitle=1